The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1887-01-19
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INDIANS AT SCHOOL.
THE NURSERY OF ABORIGINAL SLIPS
AT LAWRENCE, KAN.

How the Young Indians Look, Live. Study
and Work-Their PecuIiarities and
Progress-Breaking Down Tribal Clan
nishness-A Marked Difference.
The Haskell institute cares for nearly 400
pupils, about one-third of whom are girls
There is very considerable group of build
ings forming the institute, which consists Of
large and capacious structures for the school
rooms, dormitories and living purposes of the
pupils and additional buildings which are
used for shops, storehouses of various kinds,
and which constitute little settlement.
There is also a large farm attached, on which
the boys are taught farming, gardening and
the like, and which is considered not the least
valuable of the instructive agencies TO which
they are subjected
The institution is under the management of
a superintendent and large staff of teachers
and assistants of various kinds. The number
of tribes represented in the school is nearly
or quite thirty, and includes the names of
many of the most famous fighting bodies, as
well as of others not SO well known in history.
"Do you have any difficulty arising from
the tribal distinctions?" was asked of the
superintendent.
"There has been good DEAL as I under
stand under prior arrangements, but l have
substantially obliterated it under the system
which 1 have adopted. There is an intense
clannishness among the boys on their arrival,
and in fact their tribal affections are never
0bliterated; and yet it is at least kept well
in the background during their stay in the
institute"
BREAKING DOWN CLANNISHNESS.
"HoW do YOU bring this abOutF'
II arrange them into companies, selecting
them with reference to size, putting the tall
est boys on the right, which, of course, pre-
vents anything like tribal association. They
are also mixed at the tables, and the COM
panies are roomed together in the various
dornitories, and thus, by these and other
means, the tribal relations are weakened by
disuse, if not wholly obliterated."
"Do YOU find any intellectual difference in
the various tribes-that is, are some of the
children of certain tribes brighter, quicker
to learn, more or less docile than others"
"There is not much difference in that direc-
ton; the children of one clan are about the
same in intellectual qualities as the re-
mainder. l do find an inequality in one re-
spect, and that is that ! think find more
tractability and ambition among those pos
sessed of warrior blood. had much rather
teach the children of blanket Indians than
those of the more civilized. As to the chill
dren here while there are twenty-nine tribes
in all represented, there are more Cheyennes
and Arapahoes than all others combined"
In reference to the control of the boys, the
manager said that he has great success in APP
pealing to their manly sentiments. 1t is
enough to say to an erring boy: "a brave man
would not do that! The son of a warrior
would not do this" When one of them gives
his word on anything or shakes hands on it,
bo ,oorordc Iic rlndoo q inViOlablp- and never
"goes back on it" in the words of the super
intendent
A trip through the shops reveals the boys
engaged in various occupations. In the rooms
devoted to shoemaking, there were four or
five Young men of from IS to 20 years of age
engaged in repairing foot furniture Some
specimens of their work were shown, and
while they were not just what would be pro-
duced by a cosmopolitan artist, they were at
least creditable to the locality and the oper-
ators They handed out their work for in
spection, and seemed sheepishly pleased at
the commentator which their labors
elected.
There were several young fellows at work
in the carpenter shop who showed the plane
and handled the mallet and chisel with as
much earnestnesS as if they were white men.
The exhibit in the blacksmith shop was as
creditable as that of the other work places;
ments the boys seemed as much at home as if
they were Injured to the business by genera
tionS of training.
A POINT OF DIFFERENCE.
There was, however a point of difference
between these young nlen and the same num-
her of white boys. There is in the face of the
thoroughbred mechanic an expression which
| seems to be in entire harmony with his occu-
| patton. There was lack of this in the faces
! of the young Indians. They were at the
bench and forge, and yet from their counte-
nances they seemed to be far away. They
worked, as it were, mechanically, perfume
tOriIy. They seemed one thing, and their
surroundings something else. They were like
an inharmOniouS element in the scene; as II
two quite unlike things had been thrown to-
gether Their expression solemn, stern
and unyielding. During the entire visit of
inspection there was scarcely such thing as
a smile to be seen on the faces of the boy or
girl. This is not owing TO anything like un-
! happiness over their situation, but rather to
the peculiarities of their race.
Each Young Indian who was at work sug-
erested some wild animal tanned sufficiently tC
perform domestic service; something like a
wolf broken to harness. doing the work well
but vet very much out of place with bit
traces and collar.
That the boys retain much of the old war
| rior leaven Is constantly shown 1hey eVlnce
it in their fondnesS for military trappings and
parades. They are excessively fond of listen
ing to narrations of heroic deeds. Talk tC
us" they viii often say to the superintendent
"of the warriors of Europe" They listen tc
battle accounts and incidents in the lives OF
great soldiers with an interest intense beyond
description. With such sentiments pervad
ing their natures, it is not likely that they
viii make first-class, plodding mechanics
They may not know why they do not love
the occupations to which civilization has as
signed them; in fact, they may fancy that
they do like their civilized trades, but beyond
question there is something in these laborS
that is at war with their instincts A genera
ton or two later may afford difference, and
they may take kindly then to what they now
apply themselves as a duty or a task,-Cor
Chicago Tunes.